At a critical juncture in the history of our community, we need a person with both private sector and public sector experience who has the ability to bring people together to lead our County. I believe my almost 19 years of service to the community as a Trustee of Ohio’s eighth largest township, my commitment to Mahoning County, my education, and my 30 years of successful private sector work experience make my uniquely qualified to hold the post of County Commissioner.

Priorities

Because we can do nothing constructive or progressive as a County without adequate financial resources, finding ways to increase economic growth and create good jobs for all our working families is by far my first priority.

Fortunately, my 18 years of experience as a Trustee of one of Ohio’s largest township has taught me some valuable lessons that I will apply to my work as a Commissioner. During this period we created an Enterprise Zone that has helped to bring more than $300 million in new residential, commercial, and industrial development to our Valley.

First among those lessons learned is the need for public officials to think creatively, and act aggressively, to work in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce to attract new companies to the area. Innovative use of tax abatements and other tax incentive strategies has played a key role in moving Austintown forward. At the same time, I firmly believe that we must ensure that tax incentives, loans, and grants benefit both the companies that receive them and local residents, by helping to create good jobs. This must and will be a criterion by which I judge the development proposals that come before me as Commissioner.

I will focus on marketing our area within and without the state of Ohio. We possess great resources, including a great location, an outstanding transportation infrastructure, an abundant water supply, and a trained and motivated workforce that should appeal to a wide variety of businesses. Thanks to the fact that most of the public corruption that tainted our area has been cleaned up, we now have the opportunity to focus on those assets rather than on the negative image that has hindered our progress for far too long.

Finally, I believe that regional cooperation and consolidation efforts both within and outside the county will be critical to our success in the years ahead. Despite the fact that many believe such cooperation is impossible in Mahoning County, there is plenty of opportunity at hand. I believe that for this to happen that as County Commissioner I have the best ability to take the lead in assembling elected officials at all levels of government, along with private sector business and labor leaders to work together to achieve this objective.

The public safety is also a priority of mine, and the ability to find new innovative ways to fund our jail will be a focus. Currently there are opportunities for pay for stay collections as well as the ability to collect court costs and fines that are in arrears. These systems are available at no cost to the taxpayer and we have sat idle in Mahoning County for too long.

If we focus on these areas, I believe we can create a safer environment, attract new businesses, and create new jobs that will, in turn, generate the revenue Mahoning County needs to effectively deal with the problems we face and seize the opportunities for growth and success that will arise in the future.

Qualifications

I believe that my education and more than 25 years of successful private sector experience managing sales divisions of more than 40 million dollars in sales; along with my almost 20 years of successful public sector experience as Trustee in one of Ohio's largest Townships makes me uniquely qualified to be the next Mahoning County Commissioner. Township Trustees and County Commissioners deal with similar problems daily; balancing multi-million dollar budgets, passing state audits, job creation, economic development, roads and infrastructure, zoning, parks and recreation, senior services, labor negotiations, and what I consider the most important, public safety. All issues I have successfully handled in my careers, along with being able to work cooperatively on a board of three in the public sector, has provided me with the qualifications to serve as Mahoning County Commissioner.

Positions on the issues

The relevant issues dealing with the County will include budgetary concerns that will need to be dealt with by someone who has made difficult decisions. The need to continue working on job creation and economic development and partnerships with the Chamber of Commerce, as I discussed previously. But important issues like regionalization and the consolidation of services will need the perspective of someone who has been involved in the discussions and knows the hurdles that we must overcome to accomplish. Issues and opportunities that I have the insight and ability to work to achieve are 911 dispatch and radio consolidations, the City and County Board of Health and building inspectors, the Court system in Mahoning County and working to complete JEDD’s within the County that will benefit all political subdivisions. I look forward to further discussions concerning these important issues and opportunities that exist and will be imperative if we are to be successful in the future.